Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Of course not. I'm afraid that the only language that I know outside of English is French. I'm very bad at French." Rissa commented as she moved to take a seat as she was offered one beside Warwick, right across from the queen who seemed as if she didn't want her to be there at all. "Warwick. It's good to see you as well. I hardly had time to come to Edinburgh in the past and I'll have to thank Marianne for passing my name along."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We'll just have to figure out the language barrier in time," Kell assured them as they took their own seats. Qira would talk privately with Rissa later. Warwick sat forward to pat Rissa's hand as she settled beside him.

"I'm glad to have you, my dear. This court needs a few more cool heads." He chuckled with a glance to Kate.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You didn't say a word when I sent that lord back home with his tail between his legs." Kate said with a shrug as Warwick looked at her with a grin. "You won't say a word the next time I do it either."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Because you were right this time, not just insufferably stubborn," Warwick commented, having no qualms about letting Rissa see what being part of Kate's inner circle was really like. "This time," he repeated with a raised eyebrow, knowing she'd been stubborn just for the sake of it before, and would do it again soon.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Every time. I don't care what a spoiled lord wants to do. If it messed with the general order of things, I'll always say no." Kate said with a shrug of her shoulders, glancing over at Rissa as she laughed.

"I see what you mean, Lord Protector." Rissa said, drawing a long glare from Kate.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell gave Kate a secret nudge to remind her to be polite, and smiled to Rissa. "You get used to it. It all comes from good intentions."

"Well, all has been kept in order for the moment," Warwick assured Kate. "And hopefully with more trustworthy folk being added to your council, we'll be able to filter out the nonsense so you have more time for important things."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We'll be leaving soon for our vacation, so I'm not sure what there is for her to be doing here." Kate said even after Kell had nudged her. "I have Warwick. I don't need another adviser or a lady in waiting or whatever we wish to call it."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm not getting any younger, Kate," Warwick reminded her, sitting back in his chair. "Lady Rissa is here in part to take over when I'm done. So you can blame me, but I will not have you acting rudely to her." Prior to her becoming Queen, Warwick had always been something of an uncle, or rather, a great uncle. So he had scolded Kate on occasion when she was younger. And it seemed her new title didn't stop him now.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Warwick while he scolded her for being rude to Rissa. She said nothing as she heard the young woman chuckling.

"There's nothing she can say that I will take offence to. Trust me, Warwick." Rissa said as she looked towards the old man and then back at Qira and Kell. "Well, ask me anything you like. I know you want to know about me."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Qira and I discussed some of the risks we we're willing to take, what with some of those stretches of time when you've seemingly disappeared," Kell explained. "And we know you have some experience in subterfuge. But I think it'd make everyone feel better if we knew what you were doing when you seemed to have just vanished from all record. We don't even know where you're from, either."

 

[heartofcourage]

"As to where I'm from, I'm Scottish. I was born here in Edinburgh. My mother was from Egypt, but my father was a minor Scottish lord." Rissa said simply enough as she glanced over at Warwick. "As for the rest of the information you would like, you would need to ask him and the king of France."

 

[KieranSoares]

"So, sensitive work. Understandable." Kell nodded, drawing out a small journal to jot notes down. "And your father is Lord Cerydan formerly of Marth." Kate knew the name, a town lost in a Clan raid on High Throne land. The Clan King responsible was long since dead and his lands absorbed by another clan.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Was." Rissa said in a tone that told him that she didn't necessarily think about her father very often. "After he was involved with the take over of Cerydan, the plague swept through. It killed everyone."

Rissa had been the middle of four children, two older brothers and a younger one. Her mother had been a slightly cold woman, not interested in her children beyond family name. Her father had been slightly warmer to the children, indulging them more with what he could afford to buy instead of what affection he might give them. One summer, the entire family and many of the farmers who lived on the land had contracted the plague. They had been quarantined and Rissa was the only one to survive.

"Jeremiah was his name. My mother's name was Kahina. I had three brothers, but I am the only one left." She said it all very matter of factly, looking at Kell as if to ask if he had any other questions to ask.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell met Rissa's gaze not with pity, but clear understanding of what she'd experienced. "I see." He closed the journal. "I think that'll do." He looked to Kate then. "If you have questions or doubts, best voice them now."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't believe I do. I only ask for a place that my drakes might stay. I know that there are not many in the city at the moment, so I don't want to cause anyone stress." Rissa said as Kell declared that he had no more questions for her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Not a problem. We'll sort something out." Kell glanced to Kate again. "How about you, Kate? Any questions, concerns? Other than what you've already said?"

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate didn't say a word as she took a sip from her tea yet again, staring at both Kell and Rissa. She didn't want this woman there and she was fairly clear on this, but she thought it better to hold her tongue before she got scolded again.

"She'll warm up in time, I'm sure." Rissa said as she looked from the queen to the lord protector.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell sighed, secretly rolling his eyes at his wife's Cole reception to another woman in their inner circle. "One can only hope."

"In the meantime," Warwick spoke up, "you'll be spending most of your time with me. It's best to get you acclimated to the court and all of our... Charming nobles. They'll try to step all over you, but you will have authority from me to put them in their places when they're being ridiculous. Which is fairly often."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You know you have nothing to worry about from me." Rissa said, giving Warwick a kind smile. "I might not come to court much anymore, but you know I can hold my own. A few nobles won't scare me away and I can hold my own against them."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm certain you can. But if any decide to overstep their bounds, Qira, Kell, and their agents are always in reach if needed." Warwick was already fond of Rissa, that was clear. "Now, on to business..."

They spent an hour discussing a few odd subjects that didn't require a council, Warwick and Kell both jotting down the occasional note, before Warwick retreated to see Marianne and Kell followed Kate to a meeting. Qira was left with Rissa purposely, and it had become more and more apparent as the conversations with the others had gone on, that Qira seemed to recognize Rissa.

"You were in Marseilles four years ago," he suddenly muttered as they were left alone. That told her he knew of her presence during a very dangerous event surrounding the French royal family. On a tour between Reims and Marseilles, half the French royal guard had suddenly turned on the family along with several spies, but only managed to kill the youngest prince before they themselves were put down. It had stemmed from a break in the spy network, when an unknown lord bought the loyalties of several spies and royal guardsmen. Qira didn't have to say it out loud to let her know that he had his suspicions about her

 

[heartofcourage]

"I was. I was there at the request of the queen. She was a friend of my father's." Rissa confirmed, looking at the dark panther as he suddenly remembered where he had last seen her. "I was a young woman then. They needed my guidance and advice and I was glad to come and offer it to them. I didn't expect things to turn so ugly."

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira held her gaze for a long moment, gauging her reaction to him bringing up the subject. "You were... Not part of it." He confirmed quietly, his shaky grasp on English keeping him from really questioning her. So he relied on his gut instinct.

"Kate... Is important to me," he muttered. "To many. Danger follows her, and will follow you. But if you protect her... I will protect you. From Lords, assassins, spies, any danger. So will Kell."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Trust me when I say that her tongue will get her into more trouble than anything else." Rissa said as Qira explained his stance on Kate and her role in Kate's new life. "She will say the wrong thing to the wrong person and it will be her end."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Not while I live," Qira promised her, his stoic demeanor never changing despite a touch more force to his voice. "She brings good change. She needs to live. And she and Kell... They are good to me." His voice remained firm, but he was doing his best with a limited vocabulary to tell Rissa how important Kate was to Scotland and himself. "She will be friendly soon. You will see."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And if not, well, I'll just have to show her majesty that I am a more stubborn creature than herself." Rissa said with a shrug of her shoulders.